2° ‘etage: Grey Matter

The album liners disclose that 2° 'etage improvises with the panache of storytellers, painters and poets. Starkly expressive, the program is sculpted with a mindset that parlays the old adage, "let the chips fall where they may," largely framed on airy dialogues, minimalism and unorthodox soundscapes. They work from a platform, consisting of fractured passages and take their time unraveling themes other than spots where eminent drummer Gerry Hemingway interjects rumbling fills into a broad plane of free-flowing exchanges.

"The Ghost Train" is predominately steered by trumpeter and bugler Jean-Luc Cappozzo & Geraldine Keller. With his multiphonics and breathy intonations amid other curiously interesting manipulations of air, he conjures a bewildering set of circumstances. Hemingway lightly peppers the asymmetrical pace via his use of brushes, while pianist Christine Wodrascka's work on this track is quite subtle. The trio's tactics are based on gradually ascending storylines, executed with splintered flows and numerous noise-shaping components. As the piece evolves, Cappozzo's scratchy phrasings may signal that a perfectly fine situation has gone terribly wrong. Hence, the musicians finalize matters with a slowly moving burnout. Ultimately, the listener needs to approach this recording with an open mind as the artists propogate a 360-degree panorama of mood-altering opuses.